


An Inventory of Everything I Know

by cherryquitecontrary



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: As does Elvira's dog, Asra continues to be weak for his apprentice, Elvira tries to get her memories back, Faust has a cameo, implied pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:01:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25778602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherryquitecontrary/pseuds/cherryquitecontrary
Summary: In spite of all the pain it brings her, Elvira tries to remember all that she’s forgotten.
Kudos: 4





	An Inventory of Everything I Know

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first fic that I wrote for my apprentice Elvira! This was first posted on my Tumblr @cherryquitecontrary. Hope you enjoy!

_My name is Elvira Casimiro._

_I live in Vesuvia._

_I have a dog named Luna._

_My teacher’s name is Asra._

Dark hair clenched between her fingers, Elvira forced herself to think. There _had_ to be something else. These four things couldn’t possibly be all there was. It had been months since she awoke in the arms of Asra, mind seemingly blank as the day she was born. She was unable to speak or even walk by herself in those early days. Thanks to Asra working tirelessly in an attempt to bring her back to her former self, her speech had slowly returned to her. She had picked up the written word even faster, and it became her and Asra’s main form of communication for a while. Her fingers had begun to weave bits of songs on her guitar again as if they knew what to do before her brain could command them to move. Her teacher marveled at her every time she did something new. He said that she was slowly coming back into her former self. These things just take time, he reminded her. If she continued to work hard and focus, she could do anything.

However, there was one thing that Elvira simply couldn’t do: _remember_. Any knowledge of who she was before she awoke was completely lost to her now. She had tried to force the memories back, tried to work at it just as she worked at everything else. But pressure would immediately build behind her eyes the moment she began her attempt. The harder she tried, the faster the pressure would turn to pain and spread through her body like wildfire. Oftentimes it was enough to bring her to her knees, tears streaming down her face. The only thing she would be able to do was choke out a call for Asra, who would always come rushing in and gather her in his arms just as he did those months before. Her mind continued to turn against her in the ultimate act of betrayal and there was little either of them could do about it. Asra had attempted to tell her something, anything. When the first trial failed, Elvira begged him to try again. And he did, again and again, until his final attempt with magic left her comatose for hours. Since then, he remained firm on his decision to stop trying. But Elvira couldn’t help herself, and there was nothing Asra could say that would make her stop.

_“Come on, come on, come on.”_

The raven haired magician repeated this over and over again, hoping in vain that just the familiarity of the phrase would elicit something. She knew that she shouldn’t have been doing this while Asra was away at the market. It was uncharacteristically reckless of her, but she had to try. Closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths, she closed her eyes and tried to focus. As soon as she started, the pressure behind her eyes began to build. She gripped onto the edge of the counter as her knees began to buckle due to the pain that began to spread from her temples. All time seemed to slow and her senses dulled slowly until everything around her seemed to almost fade away. Before everything completely went dark, a pair of arms wrapped around her, bringing her back to reality. 

_“Elvira, we talked about this.”_

_Oh shit._

She leaned back into her teacher’s arms until she was resting back against his chest. Asra rested his chin atop her head, the brim of his hat falling into his eyes. Although his voice only had the edge of gentle chiding, Elvira couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. She knew how worried he got when she started to fade away. He had changed so much after that day, his looking after her always just on the verge of being overprotective. She didn’t mind, nor did she blame him. After everything that happened, she could only assume that he had every reason to be cautious. It took a few moments for the world to stop spinning. Once her mind settled and her steadiness returned to her, she put a hand over one of Asra’s. She closed her eyes and sighed. The magician’s presence always had a calming effect on her.

“I know… I’m sorry.”

Asra tutted teasingly, releasing her. Elvira turned and looked up at him, but he quickly turned the other way to take off his hat and scarf. Asra was almost glad that she couldn’t see his eyes, for he worried that they would betray his true feelings for her. 

“You don’t have to apologize for anything. I get it. I’m just glad that I came back when I did.” 

“I’m glad you came back, too.” 

Asra tried not to flinch at how small she sounded when she said this. He knew that Elvira was just trying to do whatever was in her power to get her memories back. It was all she knew how to do. For as long as he’d known her, he’d never found her to be a quitter. That was just one of the items on the list of the many wonderful, _fantastical_ things about her that Asra adored. Even though every one of her attempts to remember made his heart clench with a pain he couldn’t describe, he couldn’t help but admire her tenacity. 

“Oh! Before I forget! I got something for you.” 

Elvira raised an eyebrow at him as he rifled through his satchel. He pulled two oblong packages out of the well-worn bag and held one out to her. The wrapped object was warm and light in her hands. When she inhaled, the sweet smell of cinnamon and pumpkin filled her nostrils. 

“It’s pumpkin bread! We used to get it all the time. Since you haven’t been able to leave the shop, I thought I’d bring it to cheer you up.”

Asra unwrapped his small loaf of bread and nibbled on the end. The sound of paws scraping the wood floor announced the arrival of Luna, Elvira’s dog. She came bounding in, Asra’s lavender snake Faust draped around her neck. She jumped up on Asra, whining and begging for a piece of bread. The magician laughed and pulled the bread high above his head. 

“Luna! Down!” As he moved around, trying to get her away, she danced on her hind legs. Faust used Luna’s proximity to Asra to crawl beneath the hem of his shirt and slither up his body, causing the dog to get even rowdier. “Faust! Don’t encourage her!”

Elvira couldn’t help but watch the scene fondly. Sure, things may not be perfect. She couldn’t remember anything, and there were still some parts of her that she knew were lost. But, she was with Asra, the one person that cared for her and made her feel loved. She had Luna and Faust, who kept her company. There was not a moment when she wasn’t surrounded with love. 

Life wasn’t perfect. But, it was good. Elvira was satisfied with that.

_My name is Elvira Casimiro._

_I live in Vesuvia._

_I have a dog named Luna._

_My teacher’s name is Asra._

For now, she supposed, that was all that she needed to know.


End file.
